Practice Makes Perfect
by HadesWriter
Summary: Zoro is missing, everyone else is in town, and Nami is waiting for Zoro to whisk her away to another date. But why is he missing? And why is Robin acting weird? Zoro x Nami, One Shot, DEDICATED TO XEternalxDragonX.


Nami scrunched up her nose, and crossed her arms across her large chest. _Where is that idiot? Making me wait like this. I'm so going to add this to his debt _And not only was her date missing, all of her other friends had suddenly vanished from the Sunny, and all because Luffy said so. She tapped her foot impatiently while standing in her room, and waiting for Zoro to knock before whisking her off to another date.

Nami glared at the door as if she could light it on fire with her gaze alone, "that's it! I'm not waiting for that idiot! How in the world can he get lost, on the Sunny too! This is another hundred thousand beris onto his debt!"

Nami marched out of the room, and thought about going to the sleeping area for the males of the Straw Hats, but thought against it. She didn't want to see the mess they might have created in there, or the posters that Sanji undoubtedly owned of naked woman or models. Nami made her way outside to see if anyone had returned from town, and was shocked at what she saw.

No one came to greet her, not even her bungling captain. With a frown tugging her lips down, Nami tumbled down the stairs looking for signs of the green haired man. She had to admit, she felt quite silly, falling all over the deck and swaying like a drunk, with no one to talk to. The seconds passed, and she kept time with the vague movement of her log pose.

After nearly five minutes, Nami couldn't take it much longer. Zoro had been the one to call the date out of nowhere afterall, so why was she the one to wait for him? If he hadn't, Nami could have been out on the town with Robin, and watching Sanji do whatever command came from her pretty lips. She walked over to the mast and glared up at the small shack perched on the top. _If Zoro is anywhere, it's there._

Suddenly, Nami heard footsteps on the wooden deck of the Sunny and she grinned, thinking it was her swordsmen. She twirled around, prepared to play the man like a game of poker, but was stunned, and yes, disappointed to see the only other female on the ship. To Nami's surprise, Robin looked shocked to see her, and glanced at her fingers that were on her thin hips. _Is it just me or does she look a little_ nervous? Nami wanted to scold herself; it was impossible for that woman to be nervous about anything.

"Hey, Nami."

Her glower wouldn't do much to affect her, but at least it made her feel as though she had some element of control over the situation. Maybe she'd see and decide to speak up. With her eyes shut, Nami counted down from ten–it took only until the count of five to get a response.

"What's wrong, Nami?"

"Where's Zoro?"

The pregnant pause that followed clearly indicated that Robin wasn't using her power to search for the pirate hunter. She knew where he was, she just didn't know how to tell the navigator. A roll of her eyes, and then Robin answered:

"I'm...I'm not sure, Nami."

Nami couldn't help the snort that rose from her throat as she pointed a thin finger at the archaeologist and stood. "Your not sure, my ass! If you won't tell, me I'll look for him myself! " Robin didn't answer, but a devious smile formed on her face, which only angered Nami further. "I guess if it means he'll behave himself."

With Robin walking back to girl's room, Nami climbed the ladder to the training room of Zoro. Nami did, after all, have a pretty good idea of where he was having his "private moment," and she intended to interrupt. It was not only so she could yell at him, but also so she could jack his debt through the roof, which would turn out lovely for her.

As Nami scaled up the ladder, a voice drifted up toward her; apparently Zoro had forgotten to close the hatch door. Nami got close enough to the door, not to be seen, but just to enough to hear everything he said perfectly. The scene before you did not answer anything, though it did raise several questions _more_.

One of Zoro's three katanas was sitting in a chair in front of a table; pulled out of it's sheath and erect on the chair. Its face, for want of a better term, was tilted politely toward Zoro, who was walking away, shaking his hands in the air.

"No, no, no. That won't do either." Zoro paused with his hand cupping his chin. While you debated walking back up the stairs, he snapped and turned back. "Damn, this is so stupid. Let's just do it again."

The sword, of course, said nothing as Zoro drew nearer. Her frown growing more prominent, the navigator watched as Zoro sunk onto one knee and gazed up at the hilt of his beloved sword. Another drawn out stint of quiet followed. Zoro almost looked frozen, until he coughed.

"Nami, I know this is really sudden and all. We haven't been dating for that long, and my debt is still pretty high...and I still want to be the greatest swordsmen in the world, and you want to draw a map of the world. But even with that in mind, I can't imagine spending any part of my life without you now. Or, I can, but I like the idea of us being together a lot more. What I'm trying to say is, um...will you marry me?"

Nami's heart stopped so suddenly that it nearly plummeted to her feet. Startled as she was, she still continued to climb up the ladder as Zoro got to his feet and scowled down at the sword. "Well, you don't have to look like _that_ about it." He ran his fingers frantically though his hair. "I ought to throw you into the sea, you stupid sword."

At that, you couldn't keep down a quick burst of laughter. Zoro spun on the spot to see his date standing in the doorway, grinning at him. "What are you doing?" Nami asked when he didn't speak.

"I–" Zoro began, looking almost embarrassed, if Zoro was capable of being embarrassed. However, the evidence was as clear as the blush that tainted his fine face. "It's a samurai thing! Marrying the sword...it's really important!"

Her grin only stretched wider and, slowly, Zor's expression shifted into one of suspicion.

"How much did you hear?"

"The answer is yes, Zoro," you said with a shake of your head. He smirked at the orange haired woman.

"Then I'm glad I practiced."


End file.
